INTRODUCTION

About 4H

4H Tanzania is a non-governmental youth development organization dedicated to creating self-reliant youth and active citizens through education, entrepreneurship activities, and club work. The philosophy of “Learning by Doing” enables members to learn, grow, and train their Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

4H Tanzania: To provide pre-professional education in production activities, leadership skills, and community health and environment conservation to youth aged 5 to 25 years which are not provided by the formal school curriculum.

Tanzania 4-H Organization works to encourage youth to participate in entrepreneurship activities by educating them on topics ranging from agriculture to technology to healthy living with learning by doing and earning by doing approaches.

We strive for our club members to learn practical skills, become active citizens and use critical thinking, conserve and learn about the environment, live healthy lives and grow up to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Through our projects and more than 1200 active club advisors, 4H Tanzania provides pre-professional practical education and training in agriculture, forestry, environment protection, conservation, community and family health, home-economics, leadership and management skills.

We currently have 56,037 (30,895 girls) members that take part in club activities in Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Morogoro Iringa, Mbeya, Njombe, Tanga, Musoma, Singida and Ruvuma regions. We operate our activities through 730 youth clubs known as 4-H clubs in 34 districts.

REGISTRATION

We are registered as Tanzania 4H Organization with an acronym, 4H Tanzania. We are Non – Governmental Organization, members based, non-religious and non-biased youth organisations.  Our official registration number is SO 7903 of 9th August 1993 and complied with NGO act of 2004 on 27th Nov 2006 with a Certificate of Compliance Number 1729.

The 4H CONCEPT

The four H’s acronyms stand for Head, Hands, Heart and Health

The 4 Hs stands for Head – for the clearer thinking and reasoning, Heart – For making reasonable decision, Hands – Hands for doing work, and Health – to better living in the club, community, country and the World.

4H is an international concept used by youth organizations in over one hundred countries in all five continents.

The 4H promotes sense of confidence and teamwork spirit to members so as to carry out their extra curriculum activities. The 4H logo (emblem) with a four-clover leaf in green depicts the nature’s common color, meaning life, and youthful age. The 4H motto is “LEARNING BY DOING” and “EARNING BY LEARNING”. 

It is our belief that, with close guidance from their parents and other trained adults, young people can and will learn and adapt useful skills to be applied in real-life situations. The 4H programs have an important role preparing the young generation all over the world to become good citizens. The program is not making the members dependant on external support. It is believed that through own enterprise a young person will become independent, active and responsible for his/her society, country and the world.

VISION & MISSION

VISION; to see a world where young people and adults through their own communities learn, grow and work together as catalyst, for development and positive change.

MISSION: “We advance the 4H youth development movement to build a world in which youth can learn, grow and work together to become economically independent and responsible adults”.

MAIN GOAL

To provide pre-professional education in production activities, leadership skills, and community health and environment and conservation awareness to youth aged 5 to 25 years which are not provided by the formal school curriculum.

STRATERGIC OBJECTIVES OF 4H TANZANIA

The objective of Tanzania 4H Organization is based upon the key following strategic areas:

Strategic Objectives:

  • Educational objectives – “learning by doing” aimed at providing members with knowledge and skills for better agricultural and small-scale production, as well as awareness of the environment and conservation skills/motivation like tree planting, environmental cleanness, youth exchange programs and respect of bio-diversity.
  • Youth access to practical agricultural education and rural production-oriented activities so as to become future producers of Tanzania. Youths are transformed to value agricultural activities as important as other income generation professions.
  • Economic objectives “earning by learning “. This involves promotion of entrepreneurial thinking in wealth creation. 4H Club members engage themselves during off the school period with income generation activities (IGA) in their localities. These activities enable members to meet costs for their schooling. Members purchase their own school uniforms and materials and others pay their own secondary school fees.
  • Socio-political objectives -” respect other’s opinion” -Aim is to promote democratic and gender balance awareness among youths during the election of club leaders and while conducting club business. Youths acquire such skills and knowledge during social gatherings, youth camps, programs and representation in the “Annual General Meeting” sessions. The organization also introduces advocacy services for the child rights consciousness.
  • Community and Family Health – Besides providing their families with food supplements like healthy vegetables, members play a big role in educating the family and community in health matters, including awareness of HIV/AIDS, common illnesses like malaria, abdominal infections, etc.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF 4H TANZANIA

  • To ensure pre-professional education to young people in different fields of life e.g. agriculture, forestry, livestock, art and craft, home-economics.
  • To create “learning by doing – mentality” and cooperation between young people of Tanzania and in friendly countries all over the world.
  • To prepare the on-going primary school pupils and former 4H school leavers or anyone who is willing to perform 4H-work for self-supporting programs.
  • To transform the agricultural society to scientific and technical trend in production through practice by 4H member projects.
  • To coordinate all local 4H-clubs, 4H Districts and 4H Zones into one Tanzanian 4H leadership and community development.
  • To maintain the 4H internationalism so that youths will have a greater understanding on different cultures and countries all over the world so as to achieve a peaceful and global solidarity.
  • Through purposeful economic and social deeds, to change the attitudes of the youths from passive into active through initiating youth information, learning and recreational centers where the youths can meet and learn good things from each other.
  • To promote effective behavior change communication strategies that reduces vulnerability of young people to HIV/STIs infection
  • To develop supportive mechanism that maintains and sustains peer education for health in and out of schools by engaging youth and members of the community to promote positive behaviour and practices that prevent the spread of STIS and HIV&AIDS
  • To instil spirit of tree planting and taking care of the environment. For commercial purposes to maintain the ecological system in the country.
  • To concierge the society through the young people about proper use of time and record keeping as a factor of production.
  • To organize and acquire useful educational programs and youth exchange both internally and externally within the 4H framework.
  • To train the young people to be cognizant of the nature.
  • To instil gender issues in a way that members will realize the importance of introducing the equality between men and women and will learn how to deal with any person, regardless of his/ her sex with the same recognition and respect.